Class of 2014 Success Stories: Small town, big time

Wauseon, Ohio, is home to around 8,000 people. It’s a place Lance
Witty calls a “little corn field town.” It’s probably not the spot you
would expect to be home to one of the brightest talents to come out of
the College of Musical Arts’ trumpet studio.

Like many successful musicians, Witty has been playing trumpet since
middle school. He played all through high school and was the first
student from Wauseon to perform with the All-State Band.

A Falcon at heart before he was a Falcon in actuality, Witty also
attended the highly regarded Band Reading Clinic at BGSU all four
years of high school. “Throughout high school I realized that music
was something I wanted to pursue,” he said. “I’d always thought
performance was something I wanted to do, however I initially came to
BGSU as a music education major.”

In speaking with Witty it’s easy to hear the dedication and drive in
his voice – and perhaps also realize he is not willing to be second
best at anything. However, upon entering BGSU his freshman year, he
overloaded on credit hours, “really struggled” due to his
overcommitting, and fell behind. “Things really snowballed. There were
times that it just wasn’t working.”

The hardest thing he had to hear? Key faculty advising him that he
would not graduate from BGSU.

“They told me, ‘You will not make it’… and I did not want to believe
that since from 6th grade on, this was all I’d worked for. That was
hard to swallow, but they were stating the truth.” Witty decided he
would take up the challenge regardless and he practiced.

According to Charles Saenz, associate professor of trumpet, “Lance
underwent an embouchure (use of facial muscles and the shaping of the
lips to a brass instrument) change during his first year at BGSU and
sat last chair in the University Band. He approached this process with
a great deal of patience and diligence, as he knew this was essential
to his growth and career goals. This really shows how dedicated he is
to becoming a wonderful trumpet player.”

Yet with all his struggles, he still had support from the music
faculty about continuing and pursuing his music. Saenz remarks, “Lance
has an incredible work ethic. As I look back at his first year at
BGSU, his growth has been astounding.”

“It was one of the most rewarding
experiences I’ve ever had, and I would not have gotten that at
another university."Seeing the progress, Witty kept
going and in less than a year fully turned around his playing and
finished his undergraduate degree in music performance. “Lance
eventually served as the principal chair in every top ensemble at BGSU
including lead trumpet in the Jazz Ensemble. This is a highly
specialized and physical position and is not typically a skill all
trumpet players possess. His ability to crossover between styles and
roles is one of his greatest strengths,” said Saenz.

However, the relationship with BGSU that began in 9th grade was not
over. “I did not believe I’d gotten everything I could out of
Professor Saenz,” said Witty, “or Professor Bixler in the big band,”
so he remained in Bowling Green and began his graduate studies while
his wife finished her teaching degree at the University.

Realizing that he liked teaching at the collegiate level, Witty
pursued an opportunity to teach in the trumpet studio for four weeks
in the spring and fall while Saenz was on sabbatical.

“It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had, and I
would not have gotten that at another university. I went from being
told that I’m not going to graduate from BGSU, to coming back withteaching assistantships for my masters and teaching at the
University my last year here, “ he said.

Witty now feels he’s on the right path and this mindset is evident
by his successful auditions for top tier doctoral music programs at
the University of Michigan, the University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, the University Texas at Austin,
University of North Texas and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

“For not really knowing what was going to happen, I ended up getting
one of the top scholarships in almost every school I auditioned at, so
that was very rewarding,” he said. He will be attending the University
of Texas at Austin with a substantial scholarship and studying under
trumpet Professor Ray Sasaki.

Following his graduate studies, he plans on teaching a studio at a
university. “Ultimately, I’d like to have a job very similar to
Professor Saenz … but I have a lot of work ahead of me to get there.”

“Besides Lance's dedication and strong work ethic, his biggest
strength is that he is a great person and a natural leader. He takes
every opportunity to encourage others around him. I have never
witnessed him denigrating others in order to make himself shine. This
is a trait that is nearly impossible to teach. You either have it or
you don't,” said Saenz. “I can't wait to see his growth in the years ahead.”

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